Do we look alike or what????

The top photo is of Maia and the bottom one is of Caden. Both are around 4 months old in these photos.

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Daddy & Daughter Day

So several weeks ago Maia won two tickets to a Cardinals game through the library's summer reading program. Finally the big day arrived and Daddy picked Maia up from pre-school and they boarded the metro (aka: choo-choo) and rode on down to the stadium. The bonus of the day is that several other folks from our church were sitting right next to them.

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Summer Vacation 2008

In all forms of light, there is the knowledge of surrounding darkness

“In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again…You are sad now, but…your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you.” Jn. 16

Our life is a short time in expectation, a time in which sadness and joy kiss each other at every moment. There is a quality of sadness that pervades all the moments of our life. It seems that there is no such thing as clear-cut pure joy, but that, even in the most happy moments of our existence, we sense a tinge of sadness. In every satisfaction there is an awareness of its limitations. In every success, there is the fear of jealousy. Behind every smile, there is a tear. In every embrace, there is loneliness. In every friendship, distance. And in all forms of light, there is the knowledge of surrounding darkness.

Henri Nowen, Out of Solitude p. 53, 54

[Posted by Matt]

Spreading Her Wings

A bit late, but here are some pictures of Maia before heading off for her first day of pre-school. When I picked Maia up after her first day, I expected her to go into great detail as she explained all that she did, but upon questioning, she replied "I played on the playground." But throughout the remainder of the day, I caught little glimpses of her time at school as I heard her singing new songs to herself or doing new little games with her hands. I actually think I enjoy the unexpected glimpses into her days better than a detailed description. According to the teacher, during the free play time, Maia spends much of her time in the play kitchen or at the craft table. . .and that's just great with me who loves to cook and Matt who loves the arts.

In a single Day

A lot of the time, life doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Certain things happen on any given day, a plethora of events take place in a single week. Most of what happens to us appears disjointed and out of sort—detached in any recognizable way from the larger story at play. Each day appears as a single page in the epic script unfolding before us—each taking place without our express permission or direct involvement. But every once in a while, we may take notice of particular overlays, repeats and echoes in the story, pointing to—in a strange but fantastic way—an author behind it all. And on the rarest of occasions, several facets of the story may come together… in a single day.

Just such a day started for me with a simple goodbye to my 3 year old daughter. But unlike most of my days at school and work, it was not me that was leaving the home—it was her… Somehow Maia managed to squeeze past our best attempts to suppress her natural maturing process (at least, so far) and forthwith ran into her first day of preschool. When we arrived there, she immediately busied herself in the toy kitchen with another little girl. Perhaps a new little friend… As we said our goodbyes, I suddenly found my vision was clouded and blurry. Visions of a wedding aisle and a different sort of “goodbye” kiss threatened to pool my eyes over completely. But, as I’m sure my own parents know, this sort of sorrow is a mysterious one, mixed with strange twists of joy and troubled contentment.

Fast-forward a few hours. Late afternoon. I sit at my seat in Christian Ethics. Anthony Bradley makes a throw away comment about Boy Scouts. He blurts out the scout motto verbatim. I was only ever in Cub Scouts. I hadn’t heard the Boy Scout motto in years. The class goes on. We talk of ethics, of life and of the pursuit of holiness in the days and years that we presume to have ahead of us. Dr. Bradley mentions blasting his radio—driving with the windows down—one cool summer night several years ago. I flip through the memory banks to my first encounter with a certain iconic Irish band during my college years. My soul tingled as I remembered that hour-long trip from Lancaster to Baldwin listening to All that you can’t leave Behind in its entirety. I could almost feel the tips of my hair stretching to feel the cool summer wind again…

Now fast-forward a few more hours. This time in the home of a dear friend. It was there that we met up with a dear friend of his. Jim and Sandy—each individually—have been around the sun more times than my wife, my children and I combined. I sat in Jim’s little sitting room and simply soaked in the many stories that they shared. Then Sandy began to explain the program that—since retirement—he had started in the local schools. Because the program was born out of the themes found in the Boy Scout motto, Sandy found fit to recite it to me in its entirety. Now in nearly every school district in MO—and several in Illinois to boot—Sandy’s Character Plus program is ethics in practice. I sat and marveled at this extension of the day’s earlier conversations. The remainder of the evening I watched as two old friends shared their lives with one another, poked fun at each other and laughed together. And my mind raced back to the beginning of the day, marked with the new potential for such relationships in the life of my daughter.

Now I have left my friends house. I begin to chomp and chew over the events of the day. They come colluding and colliding together and I watch as they fit together like a perfect little puzzle. I reflect on the comments from ethics class about the grand story of redemption… how all will fit together one day in the final consummation. I set my iPod on random to see what soundtrack will close it all off. Now resonating over my speakers comes the familiar refrains of U2’s Gloria, belted out as the perfect doxology. And I drive through the cool summer night, my windows open and the tips of my hair reaching for the wind.

Blessings

Fall Retreat

Here are a few pics from our recent fall retreat with our church. It was a great time hanging out with old and new friends and spending time together as a family. Maia was super excited about sleeping in a bunk bed in her new sleeping bag.

Maia and Caroline anxiously awaiting their Smores

The Cache

If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, you can now watch the entire short film that Matt and his cousin Josh just completed.
www.cachewithcash.com


The Cache from Matthew Seilback on Vimeo.

Magical Fun

The day before Matt started classes for his very busy fall semester, we decided to spend the day together at the Magic House. For those of you not from St. Louis, this is a hands on children's museum of sorts. Actually, it is a dream come true for most kids. . .kids size grocery store, bank, and restaurant, fishing pond, water toys, slides, arts and crafts, HUGE sandbox with great sand toys, and so much more! Maia's favorite parts were the grocery store, fishing and playing in the sand. Here are some pictures of our fun day together.

poor Caden. . .he fell asleep against me and woke up with my admission sticker plastered on his little face.